HIV And The African American Population

The fact is that African American population is among the ones who most get affected by HIV infection. The rate is almost eight times that of the white population if we look at it from the whole size of the population in general. Most of the people affected by HIV virus in the African American population are gay and bisexual, and the population accounts for a much higher part of new HIV infections in the world, or those who do not know that they have AIDS and therefore have not been diagnosed yet, as well as those who are living their lives with HIV.

Statistics

Around 44% of all new infections caused by the HIV develop and spread in African American communities, according to the statistics from 2010, and that is among all adult and adolescent African American people within the same population. Mostly gay and bisexual men are at risk of getting infected with HIV, and women as well. This all occurs because of the risks that unsafe sex, multiple partners, not using condoms, sharing needles in drug use have on the world population in general. Those are the risks that most people in the world, no matter the ethnicity or background or gender, get affected with. The numbers of African Americans who have been tested up to now for HIV have increased largely, and they were the highest amount this ethnic group compared to other ethnic groups in the USA.

Prevention

There are a number of challenges that African American people face when it comes to getting infected with HIV virus, preventing it and other factors connected to this particular topic, which in turn contributes to the rates of HIV infection going off the charts in general. The fact is that most African Americans tend to have sex with the people of the same ethnicity, and because of that, they are at greater risk of getting infected with this sexually transmitted infection. This ethnic population often experiences a high rate of getting infected with other sexually transmitted infections, or diseases, which weakens the immunity system of a person and helps the HIV virus to feel at home in the body of its host. There is also a grave lack of awareness of HIV in general, and there is very little that has been done to raise that awareness within the African American population. The increasing rate of poverty among this ethnic population and other socioeconomic issues connected to poverty, including little or no access to proper healthcare, and increased prevention education, all add up to the statistics regarding the African American population, especially in the USA. CDC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are funding a lot of different projects that will increase the level of awareness of HIV and the dangers connected to it, and activities that promote educating people about the HIV prevention and dangers that it involves, activities like supporting health departments financially, and doing campaigns such as Act against AIDS.